Game design: Everything you need to get started

Game design
(Image credit: Getty Images)

So, you want to get started with game design? Excellent idea, but what equipment do you need? Before we get going with all the fun stuff like modelling and lighting, we need to get organised. Life will be an awful lot simpler if we set ourselves up for success. We could just dive right in and make trees, write some music and start filling a terrain with random objects, but in reality that will lead to a lot of headaches, stress and lost time, as you spend hours searching for assets (these free 3D models might help there), digging through random folders and so on. Not fun at all! This article will run through exactly what you need to start your game design project.

We will need a structure to store and manage various types of assets, a computer system capable of running the software needed to build the game, the software to do so and storage with enough space for everything (including revisions). Let's take a look at all this in more detail and break down what we need and why. Want a new device? Here are the best games consoles around. Need to glimpse the future and issues that are arising, take a look at Meta's game design misstep.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

TOPICS

Rob Redman is the editor of ImagineFX magazines and former editor of 3D World magazine. Rob has a background in animation, visual effects, and photography.

Read more
Best game development software; logos for game development software
The best game development software to learn how to make a video game
three laptops for game development on an orange background
The best laptop for game development: the perfect device for crafting your vision
No code game engines; a cartoon flea, cartoon people and cartoon rally car
The best no code game engines recommended by leading indie devs
Citizen Sleeper 2 interview; a space person floats in a yellow room
"Game development is more accessible than ever": how Citizen Sleeper 2 was created without coding
Outsourcing game art; concept art for Halo
Game art careers: how outsourcing studios are helping to make games from Halo to Borderlands
Wanderstop indie game; A close-up view of a vibrant red torii gate, a traditional Japanese gate, in a lush green forest setting.
How Unreal Engine and Epic's Megascan library made solo-developed Lushfoil Photography Sim possible
Latest in Video Game Design
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake; two boys hug
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake - 'breathing life and depth' into a cult classic
Nightingale art director interview; people walk on a stormy beach, a shipwreck in the distance
Unreal Engine 5 is the "highest form of sorcery" says Nightingale's art director
Making Lost Legends of Redwall: The Scout Anthology; mice and other animals
Making The Lost Legends of Redwall: The Scout Anthology, and why size matters
Granblue Fantasy Relink; anime characters pose against a fiery background
Making Granblue Fantasy: Relink's watercolour visuals was "extremely taxing"
Senua’s Saga Hellblade II; a woman has hands wrapped around her face
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is the Unreal Engine 5 game to beat in 2024
Posters from Arcane, The Last of Us HBO and Super Mario Bros movie
How come all these video game adaptations are suddenly great?
Latest in Features
Nintendo and AI art; a vibrant illustration showcases a large group of popular video game characters, seemingly from the Mario franchise
Mario and Zelda creator rejects AI to "find what makes Nintendo special" – what we can all learn from Shigeru Miyamoto
Selection of Guinness ads throughout the ages
The best Guinness adverts of all time – from the toucan to a singing pint
Tina Touli headshot
"The 9 to 5 work routine was draining my creativity”: a day in the life of Tina Touli
Promise Mascot Agency;
How Ikumi Nakamura's 'art bible' helped create Promise Mascot Agency's grotesque mascots, and why collaboration in indie game development is vital
Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau discuses AI; a digital illustration showcases a stylised female figure, reminiscent of a comic book superhero, likely Supergirl, with vibrant colours and a dynamic pose
"In the future, there will be fewer artists like me – real artists" says Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau as he reflects on the dangerous impact of AI on art
Pittura, a short film made at ArtFX
"We wanted to talk about AI and its relationship to art" – how we made 2025’s VES Student Award-winning animation Pittura